UN envoy to Zimbabwe meets with reality

CALEDONIA FARM (Reuters) - A U.N. envoy met some of the 300,000 Zimbabweans left homeless by the government's demolition of their shanty homes, but had little to offer them on Friday other than bread and fruit juice.

A group of women sat away from where breakfast was on offer, saying they wanted a place to stay rather than food handouts. "A lot of people here are sick, some with HIV/AIDS. What is going to happen to them once they are thrown in the rural areas where they can't access help from aid groups?"

I hope this will find its way in her report.

The United States and European nations raised Zimbabwe's housing demolitions in the U.N. Security Council for the first time on Thursday, using a debate on extreme hunger in southern Africa to get the issue on the agenda.

About time.